A Land for Many People

Native Americans, such as the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawatomi, and Miami, used the Chicago River and its portage for thousands of years. The waterways supplied sustenance for their communities and were lifelines for travel and trade.

For French fur traders, the watershed provided a rich animal population. Traders could portage from the Chicago River to the Des Plaines and onto the Illinois, extending their network. Many explorers crisscrossed the area seeking connections between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Jesuit missionaries, who often traveled with explorers, used the river to reach their converts and missions.